Following Christ Sermon Series
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Part 1
Intro: For the first Sunday in the new year, I would like to share my vision and my burden for our church.
I cannot think of anything greater than Following Jesus.
I started following Jesus 48 years ago when I was just 4 years old.
I have never regretted it one single time.
Not once have I looked for an alternative.
Never have I looked back over that last nearly half a century and wish I’d chosen a different path.
In this verse, we see three key truths:
I. The Sovereign's Distinction – “My sheep hear my voice…”
There is something very unique about the voice of God.
And let’s be clear – the voice of Jesus Christ IS the very voice of God.
When Jesus spoke, it was God speaking.
Jesus’ name is actually THE WORD. – meaning the Word of God.
The Word became flesh. Jesus was the human essence of God’s Word and God’s voice.
Jesus made several references to the simple fact that the sheep know the voice of their shepherd.
· 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
· 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
· 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
· 16 …and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
The first mention of the word VOICE in the Bible was the voice of God.
· Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
The Distinction of His voice in Genesis 3:8 was it demonstrated the PRESENCE of God.
But the first actual record of the voice of God was in Genesis 1:3.
· Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
The Distinction of His voice in Genesis 1:3 was that it demonstrated the POWER of God.
We cannot begin to imagine the power of that voice!
Psalms 29
· 3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
· 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
· 5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
· 7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
· 8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
· 9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
One of the arrogant responses of Pharaoh was:
· Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
The Distinction of His voice in Exodus 5:2 was that it demonstrated the PREEMINENCE of God.
One of the key factors of a successful Christian is understanding the importance of discerning the voice of the Lord!
Hearing God’s voice immediately!
Being able to hear the voice of the shepherd amongst all the other voices is crucial!
I am shocked at the impersonators and pretenders that have succeeded in mimicking the voice of the Lord.
I’m even more shocked at the lack of discernment in so-called Christians to distinguish it.
II. The Shepherd’s Detection – “…and I know them…”
Jesus made it clear to the Jews that had encircled him in verse 24 that not everybody belongs to Him.
He said in verse 26 “Ye are not of my sheep…”
Knowing the voice of the Savior is important.
But the greatest thing is when He knows you!
This has always been a fascinating concept.
An Omniscient God making the statement, “I know them…”
· Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
He knows who is saved.
Jesus told them in verse 14 - I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Your false profession isn’t fooling God.
You might be confused about your salvation, but He’s not.
You might doubt your salvation, but He doesn’t.
He knows His sheep.
He knows His sheep.
And He knew he had more on the way!
· 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Jesus made multiple references during his ministry of those that WOULD get saved.
· John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
He knows who is saved and who is not saved.
And He knows who will get saved and who won’t get saved.
But He still gives every man, woman, boy and girl a choice.
His Foreknowledge doesn’t negate your Free Choice.
· John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Jesus said in John 5:40 “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
· John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
He knows who is going to get saved.
Believing that doesn’t make me a Calvinist.
That just makes Him God!
He knows the end from the beginning.
III. The Sheep’s Direction – “…and they follow me:”
I’m going to say this as kindly as I can.
He doesn’t follow us; we follow Him.
He is the Lord. He is the Master.
He charts the course.
He sets the direction.
He doesn’t ask us where we want to go; He tells us where to go.
· 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
He is the leader! We are the followers!
· 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
· 5 And a stranger will they not follow,
Preacher! I wanted to hear something deep this morning!
I got something deep right here – if you’re one of His sheep, you will follow Jesus!
And if you are one of His sheep, a stranger you will not follow!
Conclusion: This series and the theme for this year is simple: we follow Christ.
That should be our desire.
That should be our primary concern.
Every minute of every day, we should be busy doing one thing: following Christ.
Our theme song should be – “Where He Leads Me I Will Follow”
Following Jesus Series Series - Part 2
The Invitation
Matthew 4:18-22
Intro: The depth of this phrase “Follow me” is fascinating.
To think that God became flesh and then honored us with the amazing opportunity to be with Him.
I. It is a Personal Invitation (you)
This idea of Following Jesus is a personal decision.
“Follow Me” is an imperative statement with the subject as an understood “you.”
Everybody that Jesus ever encountered, He invited them to follow Him.
When Jesus said, “Follow me,” He was talking to you. He was talking to me.
In Matthew 4, this invitation was directed at Simon and Andrew, and also to James and John.
· 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
· 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
· 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
· 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
· 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
In Matthew 9, this invitation was directed at Matthew the tax collector.
· Matthew 9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
II. It is a Peculiar Invitation– (follow)
The invitation from Jesus to follow Him is peculiar for several reasons.
He wasn’t looking for a crowd of people to fall in behind Him to form a crowd.
He wasn’t looking for groupies and a fan club.
He was very specific about what He meant when He said “follow me.”
It was looking for “FOLLOWERS.”
Jesus used that word interchangeably with the word “DISCIPLES.”
NOTE: The word FOLLOW in Matthew 8:22 is the Greek word akoloutheo (akolootheo) which means: to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him; to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple; side with his party
A. It is a Peculiar Invitation because of its Timing
When a person give you or me an invitation, the proper protocol is to give us time to prepare.
There is usually a card or text message or email with the date of the event, the location, and all the details.
This invitation from Jesus is peculiar in its timing simply because there is an immediate invitation with an expectation of an immediate response.
The first time we find a record of the Lord Jesus saying “Follow me” in the Bible, it is in Matthew 4:19.
It is a different Greek word for FOLLOW than all the other times we find that word.
It is the Greek word deute dyoo’-teh which means: come hither, come here, come, interjection, come!, come now!
Jesus didn’t stand around for days or weeks or months waiting.
Notice the immediate response to His Invitation in Matthew 4:
· 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
· 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
He didn’t give them an opportunity to finish what they were working on.
He didn’t give them the chance to tie up loose ends.
He didn’t give them time to even say goodbye to their friends and family.
When Jesus extended an invitation to follow Him, it was sudden and He expected an immediate decision.
Notice these examples in Matthew 8:19-22:
· 19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
· 20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
· 21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
· 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
B. It is a Peculiar Invitation because of the Terms
1. The terms involve SACRIFICE. - Mark 10 - The Rich Young Ruler
· 17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
· 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
· 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
· 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
· 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
· 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
2. The terms involve SELFLESSNESS.
· Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
3. The terms involve SUFFERING.
Matthew 10
· 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
· 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
III. It is a Priceless Invitation – (Follow me)
I’ve had a lot of invitations in my life.
· ILLUSTRATION: The invitation to eat a meal with Donald Trump on September 12, 2016.
I believe we can all agree that a personal invitation from Jesus Christ is priceless.
To be able to spend time with God in the flesh!
To have the opportunity to hear the Word spoken by the Word. Wow!
To have the perfect example to study and learn from about what it means to be a Christian.
To be able to listen to Him pray.
To be able to ask Him questions.
To have the distinct privilege of a front row seat to some of the greatest miracles of all time.
To be able to eat with Him; walk with Him; sit around and talk with Him.
We have not only been invited to follow the greatest Person ever, but He asked personally asked us to follow Him.
The Lord of all Glory is extending an invitation to you today as well.
He’s asking you – YOU – to follow Him.
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